T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $26.43 Million Holdings in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its ownership of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. to 9.83%, with a total of 802,974 shares after purchasing an additional 5,931 shares in Q1.
• Southern First Bancshares reported earnings of $0.81 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.65, with quarterly revenue reaching $28.63 million.
• Analysts have given Southern First Bancshares a consensus rating of "Buy" with a target price of $51.00, reflecting recent upward adjustments from firms such as Piper Sandler.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 802,974 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 5,931 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 9.83% of Southern First Bancshares worth $26,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 350,875 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,947,000 after buying an additional 10,854 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 278,549 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2,936.8% in the 4th quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 230,221 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,151,000 after purchasing an additional 222,640 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 101,461 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 79,280 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares during the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Southern First Bancshares from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

SFST stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.11. 3,411 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,966. The company has a market cap of $368.96 million, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $41.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.67. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $29.14 and a one year high of $45.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $28.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.80 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.52% and a net margin of 10.09%. Research analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,083 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.72, for a total transaction of $38,684.76. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,829,042.60. The trade was a 2.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.06% of the company's stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.